Internet-based data services can provide users with access to enormous amounts of information. For example, search engines can identify relevant information in unstructured data, such as web pages and images, in response to search queries submitted by users. Users can also be provided access to structured data, such as pricing data for purchases products or services, data for allowing advertisers to manage on-line advertising programs (e.g., by selecting keywords and bid amounts), and other such applications. Often, such large groups of data are managed and presented via a dedicated user interface such as a “storefront” for shopping data, and other similar mechanisms.
One approach by which many people interact with large amounts of structured data is the spreadsheet application. A spreadsheet arranges data in rows and columns that define spreadsheet cells, and users may be given various options for interacting with and editing the data. For example, users may type in new data values in a cell, may globally replace data, may make computations on the data, and may perform a number of other functions. Thus, many people may prefer to use a spreadsheet as an interface component because they can use the spreadsheet flexibly without the need for special training.